“Hello?”
At that moment, another person entered through the door. Xin Meng and the others looked over and found that it was a tall foreign woman.
With black hair, blue eyes, and deep features, she couldn’t be entirely classified as a foreigner; she looked more like a mixed-blood.
Seeing that the room was filled with Easterners, the mixed-blood woman quickly switched to Chinese: “You are my teammates? I am Olivia, nice to meet you.”
Zhou Shengnan, who was more sociable, responded first, and the two shook hands earnestly.
“Without further ado, I’m here to show you the content on the card.”
Olivia handed the card to Zhou Shengnan and then said directly, “After we exchange the content on the cards, we’ll split up. I promised the ghost in the mirror that I would help him with something, and I intend to keep my word.”
“But, logically speaking, wouldn’t it be better to act together?” Shen Tu Kou smiled, appearing harmless.
“Why should we act together?” Olivia retorted, “The mission I received, I can complete it well on my own. Don’t you think you can handle it by yourself? Must everyone help you?”
Although her words were straightforward, they didn’t sound very pleasant. Shen Tu Kou’s expression darkened immediately, and his demeanor became strange.
Seeing the atmosphere turn sour, Zhou Shengnan quickly smoothed things over, “Westerners have different habits from us; they don’t emphasize sticking together and are more independent. It’s not aimed at anyone.”
“Exactly,” Olivia said.
Xin Meng leaned closer to Zhou Shengnan to look at the card Olivia was holding, which read:
[Those who ignore its wishes will become the dessert on its platter.]
“It seems that if we don’t complete their mission, we’ll die,” Xin Meng said.
“That’s correct, so I plan to set off immediately,” Olivia replied.
“What’s your mission?”
Olivia showed a hint of distress, “I have to… rob a bank.”
“Huh?” Zhou Shengnan was taken aback.
Li Yan, however, appeared very excited, “Oh my god, that’s been my dream! Why wasn’t I the one who got this mission!”
Olivia shook her head, “There’s more; after the robbery, I also have to kill a bank employee.”
Li Yan pouted, “What’s the big deal? I have to go into a haunted house and kill a ‘ghost’.”
The two women began discussing the matter of killing, one convinced that the other wasn’t a real person and felt no psychological burden, while the other thought it was just a game and didn’t take it seriously.
After listening, Xin Meng frowned, “Wait, this condition has a problem.”
“What problem?” Zhou Shengnan asked, “Is it that the number of people to kill is too many?”
“No, look, previously Li Yan’s card said that we can’t kill any NPCs, or we’ll die, but Olivia’s card allows us to kill?” Xin Meng said, “If we don’t kill, we can’t complete the mission, and we’ll die anyway.”
“How can that be? Doesn’t that mean we’ll die no matter what we do?” Olivia exclaimed, as she hadn’t had a chance to look at Li Yan’s card yet.
Xin Meng also couldn’t figure it out. According to the game’s conventions, it was impossible to give them a setting where they would definitely die, but how could this contradiction exist?
Also, was there an excessive number of women in the team this time?
Three women made up half of the total team.
Could this be a necessary condition to start the Bloody Mary game? After all, according to the game’s rules, only women could successfully summon the mirror fairy, yet the mission conditions involved killing, which was something that didn’t seem suitable for women to do, creating a significant dissonance.
“Can’t kill any NPCs, or we’ll die too?” Shen Tu Kou suddenly chuckled softly, “What if it’s killing players instead?”
Everyone’s gaze immediately fell on him, some surprised, some wary, and some uncertain.
“What do you mean?” Zhou Shengnan frowned and questioned.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Shen Tu Kou raised his hands jokingly, “I just want to ask, if a player accidentally dies, will it implicate the other players?”
Li Yan and Zhou Shengnan looked at Xin Meng, who was said to not be a first-time player. Xin Meng shook her head.
“This is indeed a tough question, but I believe I’ll think of a way to solve it,” Olivia said arrogantly while holding Li Yan’s card, “I see it as a challenge, and I will definitely win!”
Li Yan rolled her eyes, “Are all Westerners this arrogant?”
“What do you mean by arrogant? I’m confident! Are Easterners this rude?” Olivia immediately shot back.
Xin Meng didn’t participate in the women’s war, constantly glancing towards the door.
“Speaking of which, there’s still one teammate left. Why haven’t they arrived yet?” Zhou Shengnan, noticing Xin Meng’s demeanor, also remembered that someone was still missing from the team.
“Could it be a weak woman who’s taking so long?” Li Yan huffed.
Xin Meng frowned, “No.”
“Oh? Do you know her?” Shen Tu Kou asked.
This unremarkable man always smiled in a way that made people uncomfortable, and his words seemed strange, as if he always had ulterior motives.
Just as Xin Meng was about to speak, she saw a familiar figure appear at the door. Her previously calm face brightened, and she immediately ran over with a smile.
You Yi stretched out his arms and embraced Xin Meng tightly.
“Why did you come so late?” Xin Meng complained.
You Yi whispered in her ear, “I entered the game a bit late and went to the system space.”
“System space?” Xin Meng asked curiously, “Is there such a place? Can I go?”
“You can; you’ve been there before.” You Yi smiled slightly, saying meaningfully, “But you didn’t like it there, so you left later.”
Xin Meng felt a bit confused, more acutely aware of the impact of her memory loss. She had no sense of familiarity or resonance with You Yi’s words.
“So you guys are this!” Li Yan crossed her arms, looking at the two with disdain as she scanned them back and forth. “So disgusting!”
Zhou Shengnan also quietly distanced herself a bit.
Only Olivia and Shen Tu Kou remained unaffected. Shen Tu Kou continued to smile creepily, sizing up You Yi, while Olivia was more concerned about the mission and was more open-minded, showing no particular reaction.
“What does your card say?” Olivia even took the initiative to walk over and ask You Yi. Upon seeing his physique, she even whistled, “Wow, handsome, nice body~”
Xin Meng’s ears perked up, and she immediately glared at Olivia warily, but didn’t expect Olivia to then show a distressed expression, “I can never seem to get my abs to show. How about you teach me some workout methods when you have time? I’ll pay you.”
Xin Meng: “… He’s not a fitness coach.”
“Then what does he do?” Shen Tu Kou asked again unexpectedly.
Xin Meng glanced at him, “He’s a fitness athlete.”
You Yi: “…”
“… Is that so?” Shen Tu Kou twitched his mouth.
Xin Meng didn’t explain. She would wait until You Yi arrived to clarify, first glancing at You Yi’s card.
It read:
[Be careful, there’s more than one killer.]
More than one killer?
This is…
Olivia, having learned all the card information, immediately said, “I’m off to do my mission. Good luck to you all.”
After saying that, she gracefully walked out the door, where the girl she was responsible for was waiting for her, and the two left together.
Xin Meng looked at the others. Shen Tu Kou was odd, clearly not a good person, while the other two women looked at him as if they were looking at something dirty. So she simply said, “Then let’s all split up.”
Not paying attention to the expressions of those few, she called out to Xiao Jia and pulled You Yi out.
Following You Yi was a girl named Fei Fei, who held hands with Xiao Jia and trailed behind the two.
It was already deep into the night outside. The dormitory supervisor had long turned off the lights and gone to sleep, and the corridor was quiet. The four of them—two men and two girls—silently left the dormitory building.
In the night campus, there was not a single person around. The dim streetlights emitted a faint yellow glow, barely illuminating a meter ahead, and everything was shrouded in darkness, leaving only a shadowy black silhouette.
The two NPC girls obediently followed behind, not daring to ask too many questions as they walked towards the school gate.
“What’s your mission?” Xin Meng asked You Yi.
You Yi glanced at her, his eyes filled with a smile, “To accompany you.”
Xin Meng felt a bit embarrassed, angrily hissing, “Not that! I mean, what mission did the game give you!”
“I don’t have one,” You Yi said, “I have no mission.”
Xin Meng was taken aback, “Why?”
“If you don’t want to take it, you don’t have to,” You Yi countered, “Didn’t you recover part of your memory?”
“I know,” Xin Meng said, “Because I’m an NPC, but you… aren’t you a player? I remember…”
In the limited memories she had regained, he was an NPC with self-awareness, wandering in the game, but You Yi was indeed a player, who had encountered her to complete game missions. He had continuously cleared levels and survived until now, yet his identity should not change!
Unless he became a GM like Jie Zi and Dou Dou, maintaining the normal operation of the game and handling bugs, which would involve having a mission, but You Yi was different. He had no mission; he was just playing games with her, which clearly didn’t meet the requirements of a GM’s job.
If he were the boss, he would have kicked out an employee who was neglecting their duties and only focused on romance long ago!
… However, if he really were the boss, and You Yi was his employee…
Cough, he would probably let the other party do whatever made them happy.
“I have privileges,” You Yi said, curling his lips, “Given by the system.”
Xin Meng was puzzled. Was there such a good thing?
“What else? Is there a limit on the number of deaths?” Xin Meng immediately asked about her biggest concern.
Seeing You Yi shake his head, she breathed a sigh of relief and even became excited.
“Does that mean we can play the game without worries?”
“Yeah.”
The two of them chatted affectionately in front, not noticing that the two NPC girls behind exchanged glances, feeling relieved as they looked at them, their eyes filled with awe and tension.
